7. "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn..." - Gone With The Wind
Even if you've never bothered to watch Gone With The Wind, chances are that you know its most famous line: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Hell, you've probably even said this jokingly to one of your friends or your partner at some point, because that's the sort of society we're living in. As far as iconic scenes go, then, this one is an undeniable powerhouse - everything about it oozes memorability, despite the fact the film is 70+ years old. The moment comes as "heroine" Scarlett O'Hara, played by the inimitable Vivien Leigh, chases after Clark Gable's Rhett Butler, hoping to win him back. "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" she pleads, before Butler, finally sick of her sh*t, deadpans back: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." And then he's gone forever. It's a brilliantly cold and defining line of dialogue; risque for its day, sure, though the years haven't worn away its power.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
